Author Archives: Philip LaRose, KEXP

Seattle’s The Young Evils excel at creating infectious and darkly-tinged pop music that balances the dichotomy of a singalong chorus with sinister lyrics. Led by singer Mackenzie Mercer and singer/guitarist Troy Nelson, the duo’s boy/girl harmonies contain equal amounts of sweetness and sting while the tight punch of the rhythm section propels the pair’s musicalRead more…

Out of all the bands to come out of Seattle’s monolithic grunge era, Mudhoney may be the band that operates in the same mindset now as it did 20 years ago. Unlike some of their contemporaries, Mudhoney never broke into the upper levels of the so-called Alternative Nation stratosphere, but also unlike those bands, theyRead more…

It’s a beautiful end-of-summer day here at Seattle Center, perfect weather for the 2012 Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival. KEXP is onsite and broadcasting live this afternoon from the Bumbershoot Music Lounge. Listen this afternoon starting at noon for performances from Sera Cahoone, King Khan & the Shrines, THEESatisfaction, Oberhofer, and JC Brooks & theRead more…

Last month, KEXP listeners got another chance to see Spanish band Capsula since their performance at the KEXP BBQ this summer when they tore through the Comet Tavern during the 2011 City Arts Festival. Photographers Dave Lichterman and Miguel Edwards were there to capture the action (and yes, drummer Nacho is rocking a KEXP tee!):

To my mind, one of the best features about any music festival is the opportunity to discover new bands I’ve never heard before. (Really, that principle applies to most shows, which is why it’s always worthwhile to catch the opening acts.) This was demonstrated beautifully on Thursday October 20, the opening night for the 2011Read more…

On Friday October 21, the Helio Sequence played the 2011 City Arts Festival in one of the more unusual venues, the Pacific Science Center’s Laser Dome. They played a mix of new songs from their next album-in-progress, songs from their last album, 2008’s Keep Your Eyes Ahead, and even older ones.

The 2011 City Arts Festival continued for me on Friday October 21 with Shabazz Palaces and Metal Chocolates at the Triple Door. KEXP’s DJ Riz was spinning mellow rnb/soul to warm up, with more hiphop during the break between acts.

Originally I’d planned to spend the opening night of the 2011 City Arts Festival at Chop Suey, but with various last-minute cancellations and lineup changes, I ended up only spending the early part of the evening there before heading to Neumos for Mad Rad and Katie Kate. Katie Kate’s music had been catching my earRead more…

My intention for Wednesday’s opening night showcases at Decibel Festival 2011 was to bounce among a few venues throughout the evening, as I’d done in the past two years. However, I also knew I wanted to see two of the artists at the Opening Party showcase at Re-bar: 214, whom I’d seen at this year’sRead more…

Unlike the past two years I’ve attended Decibel Festival, this year I had a couple shows that I planned in advance to attend in full, rather than jumping around among the venues throughout the evening (though of course that would happen too). The first of those shows was at the Paramount Theatre on Thursday evening,Read more…